


Back to where we were

by Kildren



Category: Frozen (2013)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, F/F, Light Angst, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-03
Updated: 2015-01-03
Packaged: 2018-03-10 06:20:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,602
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3279938
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kildren/pseuds/Kildren
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Anna, plagued by dreams of her past, has decided to follow the clues and solve the mystery. What will she find out? [Reincarnation AU: Post-canon/Modern. Incest/Not incest. Rated T for minor swearing and implied adult content]</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Anna

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: All characters belong to Disney.   
> Note: Originally posted on FF.net

_"Do you believe in the after life?"_

_The woman's voice was soft, almost a whisper. If she wasn't in her arms right now, she was certain she would have missed it. She heard the faint sound of hope lying within the question, and she too understood why._

_"I do, and I hope it's a life where we can be together…a place where we belong."_

_"Perhaps in the next life then…" the woman said quietly._

_"Perhaps in the next life," she echoed softly as she gazed out the window towards the clouded sky._

_Nothing seemed more impossible than the wish she sent to the stars._

.

A woman slowly opened her eyes and blinked groggily into the dimly lit room. She grimaced when she felt the cool and sticky sensation of drool on her face and wiped it off with the back of her hand. After unceremoniously wiping that hand on her sheets she pushed herself up into a sitting position and swung her feet to one side of the bed. She let out a yawn as she stretched, and then ruffled her unruly bed hair with one hand.

She suddenly felt like crying, but it wasn't _she_ that wanted to cry. "What is wrong with me?" she whispered to no one as she felt a throb in her head.

Tugging at her strawberry blonde hair with frustration she let out an audible sigh. She then raised her head and looked towards the nightstand, grabbing the bottle of aspirin on it. She made a move to open it; but after the first turn she stilled her hands, remembering that aspirin didn't seem help her recent headaches anymore. After recapping the bottle she set it back on the nightstand and sighed.

"What is wrong with me?" she asked again, this time with more frustration.

Dreams, those were the problem. It all felt too real, like something she had just directly experienced. Ever since she moved to Arendelle, these odd dreams began to surface in her mind. Whenever she had those dreams she would wake up with a severe headache, which fortunately for her, would fade away within minutes after she awoke.

She got up and moved towards the bathroom, stripping out of her clothes in the process. On the way she nearly tripping on a few boxes labeled 'Anna's stuff' and made a mental note to finish unpacking these days. Anna stood at the edge of the bathtub as she turned on the water in the shower and adjusted the temperature to her liking. Once she was in the shower her thoughts began to wander to the dream she just had.

The dream was unsettling. There was something about it that gave her a bad feeling, even though it seemed pretty normal.

"Must be near the story's end…" she muttered to herself.

A few days ago Anna concluded that the dreams were memories from her past life. One might feel rather shocked at this revelation, but she felt oddly calm. She had always been indifferent about superstitions and supernatural things, so why would she be opposed to reincarnation theories? Every odd dream she had was like a snippet from memory and most of them had the same people involved in them. They were all logical and none of them were distorted dreams that jumped around the entire place. It felt as if she had an out of the body experience, or like she had relived the time.

After Anna finished her morning routine and braided her hair into two pigtails, she sat at her desk and flipped open the notebook that lay there. Inside were drawings of scenes and people that appeared in her dreams, including notes that she jotted down in order to find out who she was in the past. So far she knew that she was a princess, Princess Anna of Arendelle, to be exact. She was certain that that's why she began to have these dreams after moving here. Oddly enough they shared the same name. She knew that the castle had been closed off to the outside for some reason before the death of the King and Queen of Arendelle. There were Gerda and Kai, two loyal servants and friends of hers too. Not to mention her friend the ice harvester, Kristoff, along with his reindeer Sven, the snowmen duo Olaf and Marshmallow, the Prince Hans who had ridiculous sideburns and many other people she met…but there was nothing regarding the woman in her dreams today.

It was apparent that they were very close; however, no other woman in the notes seemed to have a strong bond with Princess Anna…at least in a physical sense. There was something missing—it was like she had a memory gap.

When Anna finished jotting down today's dream she stretched then stared out at her window. From here she could see the castle of Arendelle, which was roughly the size of her thumb. She had heard that the castle, or at least part of it, had been turned into a history museum.

"What better place to go than there?" Anna muttered to herself. Surely she could find out who Princess Anna really was and maybe get rid of her headaches and dreams at the same time. She needed someone with expertise anyways, to tell her more than what Wikipedia articles could give.

.

Roughly two hours later Anna was in front of the castle gates, trying not to get squished by the hordes of people there. She was almost dying of all the heat that emanated from the crowd as she stood under the summer sun.

"Excuse me," Anna half shouted at a man beside her. "Is today a holiday or something?"

She strained her ears to hear his answer over all the festive music and the jolly laughter from the people. "How can you not know? It's Arendelle's birthday!" he replied excitedly.

Anna quickly thanked him before he could say anything else and pushed her way through the sweaty crowd. No wonder it took her longer than she predicated to get here. She should have known when she realized that the main road leading towards the castle was closed off, which now she presumed would be for an upcoming parade. She also had a hard time finding a parking space.

Anna walked by two people yelling at each other and sighed when she vaguely caught onto the word 'promised'. She shook her head in a disapproving way when she realized that one of them abused the word and took it lightly. She heard one of them cry, and then all of the sudden her headache began to act up. She clutched onto the side of her head as she squeezed her eyes shut.

_"You promised me you wouldn't run away again yet here you are, back on the Northern Mountains!"_

_The other woman sobbed, her shoulders hunched and her arms folded over her stomach. "Why did you follow me, Anna? Go back to Arendelle!"_

_"I am not going back!" she said as her angry eyes bore into the woman's back. "Just tell me what's wrong, we can fix it together!"_

_"No," the woman spat out bitterly. "Nothing you do can fix this, nothing!"_

_"Please, I just got you back in my life! Why are you doing this to me? We're sisters—"_

_"And that's all we'll ever be!"_

She gasped as soon as the scene left her. It surprised her to have a headache, to have a _dream_ , at this time of the day instead of morning. Well, she couldn't call it dream anymore could she? Vision it is, then. As usual, the emotions were still currently entangled with her own. She was angry at the woman for leaving and hurt because the woman—because her _sister_ didn't trust her enough to confide her with her problems. Anna didn't have to see the rest of the vision to guess why she left in the first place.

The woman had fallen in love with her, and not only were they women they also were sisters. It was a forbidden love either way.

This was the first time she ever had a vision about her sister but she seemed vaguely familiar. Had she appeared in her other visions before? Every other detail in her previous visions was as clear as day, only this time the image of her sister wasn't. Anna frowned when she couldn't figure out why. She shook her head and worked on finding the museum instead.

Anna let out a content sigh when she stepped into the air conditioned museum. For some reason it almost felt like _home_. Anna somehow knew every nook and cranny to the castle by heart; it was as though she had been living there—well, technically Princess Anna did. It felt sort of odd, like she was inheriting memories.

She roamed the halls, feeling the familiarity and the strangeness, seeing as the interior had greatly differed from her dreams. Anna made a few turns here and there and turned up in a deserted hall. There was a sign that clearly told her to not enter; however, there was a strange pull that caused her to ignore it and move forward.

As she walked down the hall, she came upon a closed door with the yellow and black 'do not trespass' tape tapped across it. That was not the only thing that caught her attention. It seemed like no one took particular care of it, even though the other doors were no doubt in better conditions.

After a few seconds Anna recognized it as the door that appeared in her dreams quite often. Princess Anna stood in front of it numerous times when she was younger. She remembered the silence that greeted her when she knocked. She recalled vaguely that this room belonged to someone important…but who was it?

She reached out and gently rested her hand on wooden door. A little girl's voice rang clear in her head:

_"Go away, Anna!"_

There was a sudden pang in her chest when she realized that this had been her _sister's_ door; the sister who apparently shut her out when they were kids, the sister who later on fell in love with her.

Anna couldn't help but wonder why this room was uncared for. The once pristine white door was now an ugly shade of yellow with cracks running along it; the blue decorative paintings had faded too as time passed. She let her hand slide down until it touched the door knob. She glanced sideways for signs of people before making a move to turn it, and yet another vision came to her:

_She stared at the door in front of her and wondered when was it that she preferred it closed rather then opened. She used to be so eager to open the door, and now? Her heart was filled with dread as she moved to open it. The room was dark, save for the moonlight that shone through the windows._

_"Anna, I love you…"_

_Anna said nothing but move to stand at her sister's side, knowing that the other woman hadn't finished her sentence._

_"…but we can't keep doing this."_

_"Don't you think I know that already?" she answered tiredly. "You keep reminding me about it every day and I stay away, yet in the end you are the one who comes looking for me!" she said while she willed herself not to cry. "The only reason we're here right now is because you said you wanted to see me; and I hate that you can't leave me alone—but I hate myself more for wanting you, for wanting us to be together…" she whispered brokenly._

_There was a moment of silence. This argument had become a daily routine for both of them. When her sister reached out a hand to cup her cheek Anna leaned in, fearing that this moment would be the last._

_"I love you," her sister breathed. She knew her words were sincere, because there was no denying anymore. They loved each other deeply, despite the numerous hardships and arguments they have been through. One way or another, they kept coming back to each other._

_It was true love, wasn't it?_

_Anna leaned forward and captured her sister's lips with a desperate kiss._

_"I know," she murmured between kisses, "I know."_

Anna quickly let go of the knob and backed away towards the wall behind her. She had her fair share of relationships but none of them, none of them came close to what she had just witnessed. The strawberry blonde could feel how much Princess Anna loved her sister. Her lips had demanded attention while her skin begged to be caressed upon; her ears strained to hear the soft moans while her hands fervently roamed about...every fiber of her being yearned to touch the other women, to be with her and her only.

Anna never thought she would get the chance to say this, but everything had just felt so _right._ It was so cliché that she once laughed at her friend for saying that; however the feelings that she had just felt proved her that it was indeed true. 'Right' seemed to be the only word to express the love between Princess Anna and her sister.

Yes, it was like true love.

Her thoughts were disrupted when she heard a man shouting.

"Hey, you! You're not supposed to be here!"

Anna turned around, a sheepish look on her face while she was about to apologize. However, when she saw the man's face she was stunned.

"Kristoff?"


	2. Kristoff

The blonde man raised a brow at the name. "It's Christopher, actually." He glanced at the door for a few seconds and then gave her a stern look. "Sorry Miss, but I'll have to escort you out this hallway right now. Did you not see the sign?"

"Sorry Christopher, I uh…got lost?" Anna replied lamely.

"Well, follow me then. No one really comes to this part of the castle nowadays. I'm surprised at how far you've gotten; and please, you can call me Chris."

"If you haven't noticed already, Chris, I have a terrible sense of direction even when I have a map on hand," she lied weakly as she waved the pamphlet she had been given when she walked in the castle.

Whether or not he noticed that she was lying, he didn't give it away. Instead Chris gave her a grin. "So is Kristoff you're friend?" he asked as they walked towards a more populated area. "You called me Kristoff."

"Yeah, I apologize for that too. You looked sort of like him from a distance."

Another lie. Chris and Kristoff looked exactly the same, asides from the different hair-cut and their age. Chris's hair was shorter than Kristoff's, but other than that she still couldn't find a single difference between them. They had the same blonde hair, same brown eyes, same big nose and even the same smile! She wondered if she looked like Princess Anna too.

"So where would you like to start from? I can show you around."

"Huh?"

Chris laughed. "You obviously came here for a reason, right? I presume you came here to learn the history? Judging by your accent you're from Corona, right?"

"Of course I came here for a reason; and yes, I am from Corona."

"Have you decided then?"

The day she concluded that her past-self had been Princess Anna she did a bit of research online; however, much to her dismay, there wasn't much on the princess as she'd like there to be. There were only mentions of her in the journal of a man named Hadeland, not even a single portrait! Maybe she should start from there.

"Do you know anything about Princess Anna, daughter of King Adgar and Queen Idun?"

Chris halted his steps and turned to face her, a puzzled look on his face. "That is a very specific goal you got there. It's rare that anyone asks about Princess Anna because she's scarcely known."

"Is there a reason why?" Anna asked with furrowed brows.

Chris guided her to a nearby bench and motioned her to sit down beside him. "It's odd, actually. According to Hadeland's journal, during the revolt the princess disappeared. After months of searching they eventually gave up, declared her dead and held a funeral for her. A weird thing then happened a few weeks after her funeral. One day out of the blue her portraits and all the documents regarding her disappeared. That's why she's not well known."

"Revolt? Who is Hadeland anyways?"

"I guess I have to tell you the longer version so you can understand better."

Chris was silent for a moment and tapped a finger to his chin, looking as if he was organizing his thoughts. He then cleared his throat and began to speak.

"Princess Anna isn't the only child of King Adgar and Queen Idun," Anna nodded, already knowing that. "She had an elder sister, whose name isn't recorded in history. This is where the revolt comes in. The next bit I'm about to tell you is learned through oral history. It is said that the eldest princess was a witch."

Anna's eyes widened at the last bit of information as Chris continued. "There is no known fact in history though, but the folk say that she had power over ice and snow; hence they dubbed her the Snow Queen. Some even say that she caused that unnatural snowstorm that almost wrecked Arendelle's economy in summer eighteen-forty…hey, are you alright?"

For a moment Chris's voice sounded distant as she clutched onto her head, the pain almost unbearable. Suddenly she saw a young Princess Anna and another child, playing in the ballroom:

_"Do the magic! Do the magic!" she pleaded._

_The laughter of another young girl could be heard. All of the sudden something blue was shot up into the air. It burst upon reaching the ceiling and snow began to fall, covering the whole room._

_She danced about as she tried to catch the snowflakes in her mouth. "This is amazing!"_

"Are you okay?"

Anna let go of her head and sat straighter. "I'm alright, it's just headaches. I get them a lot. Just give me a minute and it'll be gone."

Chris looked at her with concern as she was immersed in her own thoughts. So her sister _was_ a witch—no, a person with _magic_. Was that the reason why her sister shut her out? But it was evident that they were having fun. Maybe something happened?

"Sorry about that," she said weakly as she gave Chris a reassuring smile, "so what happened next?"

"Seeing as she was a witch, Hadeland, a noble at the time, had managed to persuade the majority that the Snow Queen was to be feared of; and if they didn't do anything soon, Arendelle would perish during her reign. According to his journal, it took him years to convince them but only months to get the Snow Queen to surrender. Eventually they caught her, and the very next day she was beheaded in front of the citizens."

"B-Beheaded?"

"That's what he wrote," Chris said with a shrug. "After the revolt Hadeland declared that it was unfit to have a witch remain in the kingdom's history; therefore, all the records, documents, portraits…everything that could be traced back to her were burned away." There was a thoughtful pause.

"Is there something else you know?" she asked a bit desperately.

Chris looked at her for a moment and then leaned closer towards her. "Well this development has been like, really recent, but I heard that a year ago a guy went to some scholars with solid evidence that the Snow Queen really existed. Apparently, when he was sorting out some stuff that belonged to his family he found a small portrait of two women, and along with it there were some documents and a journal. It turned out that it was the portrait of the Snow Queen _and_ Princess Anna; and all those papers were proof of both of their heritages and rights to the throne."

"Did they say anything about her powers?"

Chris leaned back gave her an apologetic smile. "Sorry, I don't know the details. Last I heard was that the journal was written by the guy's great grandfather who was a loyal servant to the Snow Queen and that the portrait is now being restored at the moment, but majority of the scholars insisted to do more research to prove that whatever was presented was true."

Anna was silent as she pondered on all the information. "Why was the revolt even possible in the first place? If as you say, there were no known facts in history about the Snow Queen's powers, then did the people revolt based only on Hadeland's words?" she asked, feeling a hint of anger building within her.

"Well, if she really did have powers maybe the folks back then witnessed it. Maybe they actually saw her create the storm, who knows? In Hadeland's journal there wasn't a detailed description of whether the Snow Queen truly had powers or not, but it was hinted that she was a dangerous person of some sort. He also stated that Princess Anna was a poor girl who had been bewitched by the Snow Queen to fulfill her own sinful desires. It was said that she fell in love with Princess Anna but the feeling was unrequited, so she cast a spell to make her fall in love with her. If you want my opinion, I think that's why the revolt happened. You know, with a few ill rumors you can get anyone to believe in anything. Hadeland even suggested that Princess Anna disappeared because she was taken away by the spirit of the Snow Queen."

"Chris," Anna spoke softly after a few moments "about the situation with guy and the journal…did the scholars at least tell the public the Snow Queen's name?"

"No, they didn't," he replied as he stared off into the crowd, watching people pass by. "But," he said as he turned back towards Anna and smiled "I can tell that you're special, so I'll let you on this secret."

"You know her name?" Anna asked hopefully. He nodded.

"Elsa. Her name is Elsa."


	3. Hans

Anna blinked a few times after opening her eyes. "Where am I?" she mumbled as she stared at the ceiling above her.

"Oh, you're awake. Good."

She clutched the side of her head with one hand as she tried to figure out why the voice sounded so familiar.

"You're in the museum's infirmary. Do you remember what happened?"

Anna tried recalling the previous events. "I—I kind of blacked out," she said vaguely.

"Well then, how are you feeling right now?"

All of the sudden she realized who was talking to her. It was the voice of a man who had once been both her enemy and mentor. "…Hans? Is that you?"

"Oh, so you have the memories too. Well then, I trained you to kill, Anna, not to pass out from mere headaches."

"That was in the past, Hans, before _we_ were born," she replied, letting out a loose chuckle "You're a doctor now?"

"Ironic, isn't it?"

She turned her head to the right and saw a man with auburn hair sitting on the chair beside her bed, his lips curled up into a smirk.

"We use to be assassins and look at us now. You know I'm a doctor, so what about you?"

"I'm an ice sculptor."

Hans clucked his tongue. "I should have guessed. Now, you haven't answered the question from earlier. How are you feeling right now?"

"I feel so _weird_ ," she commented. "I know about everything, literally everything that Princess Anna has done! I don't know how to explain, it's like we're the same person except at the same time we're not. On the other hand it's like I lived a duel life…or maybe it's more like I had amnesia and suddenly _remembered_ …" she trailed off.

"You'll get used to it eventually, as did I," Hans said as he rose from the chair. "Would you like some water?" Anna nodded.

"I have to admit, I find it quite a relief that you…let's say, remembered," he said as he went towards the mini fridge that was situated in the corner of the room. "It always makes me happy to know that I'm not the only one with this special condition."

Hans walked to the side of Anna's bed and offered her the bottled water which she gladly accepted, before he sat back down. "It's sad that Kristoff doesn't remember, though I suppose it's the best for him. His life changed way more than ours did. He's got family now, you know? Real, blood related family," he paused for a moment as if searching for what to say. "Sven is his brother," he added.

"How do you know?" Anna asked curiously.

"I've seen him before, and trust me when I say he is _very_ reindeer-like. He has an odd hobby of pretending to be a reindeer. He isn't called Sven though; his name is actually Thor now."

"Seriously? Christopher and Thor...sort of has a nice ring to it. Well, asides from that I think it's great that they're brothers. They've always had a strong bond."

"As did you and Elsa," he said, his emerald green eyes gazing softly at her.

There was silence.

"Do you think she remembers?" Anna whispered.

"I think it's different for everyone. Kristoff, well, we already know that he doesn't. Sven…well Sven was a reindeer, so even if he had those memories I don't suppose it would make sense. For me, it was always a part of me. I knew right from the beginning. What about you?"

"Well, it started out as dreams. It began when I moved to Arendelle," she explained. "In a sense I guess the memories were trying to get me to notice them, to piece the story together and to find her. To find Elsa. I remembered everything when Kristoff told me her name, and then it was like information overload because all the memories rushed back at once. After that I just blacked out, and here I am."

She paused and let out a small laugh. "I still can't believe that you were exiled from the Southern Isles and became a self-trained assassin."

Green eyes hardened. "I still can't believe that you chose to commit suicide after getting your revenge."

The air became tense as Hans waited for his answer, an answer that didn't come as quickly as he liked it to.

"In the beginning I didn't intend to teach you," Hans spoke when Anna didn't. "I still harbored somewhat ill feelings towards you and your sister since failing to take over Arendelle was one of the reasons I got exiled. I admit I was surprised when I knew you were my new client…and that was when I made the most regrettable decision in my life."

He cast his eyes to the ground. "I admired the pure look of hate in your eyes when you mentioned Hadeland. It was a fascinating sight; seeing the once young and naïve princess turning into a woman who would do anything, a woman so desperate to avenge her lover. I could have ignored your request but no, I decided on a whim to give you a chance. Do you remember?"

"I do," Anna responded softly.

"Throughout the years I trained you, we became friends. I no longer wanted you to follow through your plans. I thought that having a new life would dissuade you from those thoughts because you had something new to live for…but apparently I was wrong. Can you imagine how I felt when I saw Kristoff carrying your limp body? I can't believe you even had the audacity to ask him to bury you!"

"I'll admit that it was the wrong thing to do, I—"

"It was a terrible thing to do!" Hans whispered harshly. "Elsa told him to take care of you and he did. For the first few months he cared for you and provided for you while you were busy acting like a useless human being; he even intercepted Elsa's body before Hadeland's men could do anything else and buried her in the Valley of the Living Rock—"

"I know!" Anna cut off with a yell as she slammed both hands on the mattress beneath her, causing the bed frame rattling slightly. "I was the one who told you all of that; you don't need to remind me!"

"In the end you still did it anyways, even when you clearly _knew_ how he felt about you. You treated him like a good friend, sure, but you also took him for granted! Kristoff gave you his everything but you? You ended your life and left the world without a care, maybe that's why you couldn't remember Elsa! Yes, maybe it's because of the things we've done that we have these memories! Kristoff, he was too good of a man and that's why he deserved to forget; but we?" Hans shook his head. "We did so many wrong things in our lives, and these memories are serving as a reminder to that."

Anna began to cry when the guilt became too overwhelming. Ever since losing Elsa she had become a soulless puppet with only the thought of revenge fueling her. She had been ecstatic when Hans had decided to teach her, the light in her eyes returning upon hearing how she could plot the revenge herself. Around that time, Anna had already known about Kristoff's not so subtle feelings for her. However, she couldn't bring herself to forget about Elsa or to be _normal_ and settled down like all women should do.

Kristoff had truly been nothing but good; he was a loyal and kind man to the ones he cherished, even when he was hurt by them.

Hans got up and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "After your death I would visit Kristoff from time to time," he spoke softly "When I was around forty I retired from being an assassin and Kristoff offered me a place in his home. When I died, Kristoff was still as strong as an ox…I guess all that ice harvesting and mountain climbing really did him some good. I think he buried me somewhere in the Valley too."

An awkward silent formed between the two of them as Hans was unsure of what to do next and Anna was still crying. They remained like that for a good ten minutes before Anna spoke up.

"I have a scar, you know?"

Hans looked at her with an arched brow.

"Right here," she clarified as she patted over her heart. "It's considered small I suppose, about one inch in length. Before today I thought it was just a weird birthmark, but now I know it's a proof to what I did; not only to myself but to others as well."

She lowered her hand to fiddle with the blanket she had been covered with. "I think you were right. About us remembering because of the things we did. I don't think I deserve to find Elsa now; I couldn't face her if I did anyways."

Hans squeezed on her shoulder lightly. "You shouldn't run away from your fears, Anna. One day you will have to face them head on and you of all people should know that better than anyone."

Yes, she knew that better than anyone. Elsa was a live example she had witnessed first hand.

"It has to be done one way or another. I guarantee that from the moment you step out of this room you will be thinking about Elsa no matter where you go, so don't torture yourself and go find her _now_. So what if she doesn't remember? So what if she doesn't want you anymore for what you had done in the past? End things between you two if need be, Anna, don't live another life filled with regret."

Before Anna could say anything a knock on the door interrupted her. Kristoff, no, Christopher came in with a concern look on his face. The look morphed into relief when he saw that Anna was awake.

"Not even twenty minutes Chris and you're already coming back to check up on her?" Hans asked in a light, teasing tone.

"You've got it wrong, Daniel!" he said with a huff "and I'm a married man, mind you."

Anna glanced at Hans with confusion. "Daniel?" she echoed. He sure didn't look like a Daniel to her.

"Yes," he said with a small smile. "I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Daniel, Daniel Westergard."

"You still haven't told me what your middle name is, even though we've known each other for years!" Chris complained. "What does the 'H' stand for?"

Hans threw a wink towards Anna and held up his forefinger to his lips as he looked at Chris. "It's a secret. Now, why exactly are you here?"

"Oh! I'm here because I saw a painting of—" he glanced at Anna, realizing that he hadn't asked for her name yet.

"Anna," she supplied. His eyes widened a fraction.

"—yes, I saw a painting of Anna!"

"How can there be?" she asked with a frown "I know some painters but I've never modeled before."

"But it's true and you have to go see it! I'll take you there!" Chris turned to Hans "She can leave now, right?"

"Of course she can leave," Hans responded as he waved his hand in a dismissive way.

Anna was utterly confused at this point, wondering how in the world a painting of her was in the museum.

"Oh, and Anna?"

She turned her head when she heard Hans call out to her.

"Tell her I said hello."


	4. Pabbie

The door had closed before Anna could question Hans any further. Chris then dragged her through different halls and before she knew it, they were standing in front of the painting.

"See?" Chris said as he gestured to the painting.

Anna glanced up and saw a large canvas with _her_ on it. Her mouth hung agape as she stared at the painting. She realized within seconds that it wasn't, well, her, but the person she used to be.

It was Princess Anna.

It showed a mid-shot of the princess as she lay against the tree, the trunk taking up almost a third of the canvas. She was wearing a plain white tunic with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows. Her head was tilted to one side, almost touching upon her shoulder while one arm was draped loosely across her waist. Her hair was fashioned in a bun but slightly messy, strands of it falling out of place. Her eyes were closed and cheeks tinted a rosy red, a content smile playing on her lips.

She remembered that day very well. Elsa and her had gone out riding that day and also had picnic outside. After their lunch she had fallen asleep against a tree, which the painting had depicted.

They had been so happy that day, but that day had also been their last.

Anna closed her eyes and remembered the last time she saw her sister:

_"Elsa? What's wrong?"_

_"Tonight's the night. Go pack, and then meet me at our place."_

_She nodded with excitement and turned around and quickly walked towards her room. They were finally going to leave!_

_"Anna?" her sister called out. She looked back over her shoulder, wondering why._

_Elsa strode towards her and gave her a lingering kiss on the forehead._

_"No matter what, remember that I will always love you."_

She should have known then that something bad was bound to happen. Blinded by the prospect of them living happily together she had ignored the heavy feeling in her heart. Anna bit her lip and blinked her eyes, trying hard to keep her tears at bay. Her eyes moved towards the title of the painting.

It was simply titled as **_Anna_**.

She was suddenly aware of the hushed whispers surrounding her as people began to realize she was 'the girl in the painting', and from her peripheral view she even saw people pointing towards her. Chris steered her away from the slowly growing crowd and led her into a room labeled 'staff only'.

"Are you sure that wasn't you in the painting?" he asked with wonder as he shut the door behind him.

"I guess it was me," she said with slowly, her mind reeling for an explanation. How would she go about explaining everything to Chris? Lying seemed to be the only option right now. Just as she was about to fabricate a story, a different voice entered the room.

"Chris, shouldn't you be out there working?"

Anna turned her head to see a man around his fifties. Judging by the suit he was wearing she presumed him to be Chris's boss. His voice was stern yet his eyes shone with kindness, or even adoration.

"Yes, Pabbie!" The young man replied quickly as his cheeks flushed red with shame. "I will as soon as I lead her—"

"You go ahead," Pabbie said, the tone in his voice leaving no room for argument. "I can escort this young lady out," he said while gazing straight at Anna, an undecipherable look in his eyes. If it was Pabbie, Kristoff's Pabbie, then was it possible that he had memories as well?

Chris looked slightly hesitant at first, but after a stern look from Pabbie he cast Anna an apologetic glance and left. They both watched him slip out the room and shut the door. Pabbie then turned his gaze towards Anna.

"Princess," he greeted with a slight bow.

Anna returned the gesture. "Pabbie."

"I am the current director of this museum, in case you were wondering. Asides from that my family has been taking care of the castle for a long time now."

"I see."

Both of them were silent for a while. Anna sorting through all the questions in her mind while Pabbie waited patiently for the Princess to speak.

"Why do you think Elsa lied to me?" she asked quietly. If anyone could understand, it had to be Pabbie; after all, Pabbie was the wisest of them all.

"Your sister always had a peculiar way of handling things. The way her mind worked…not many people could understand, including you and I."

It stung to hear that.

"I just don't understand!" her voice cracked as she remembered what happened. "She _lied_ to me when we swore that we had to be nothing but honest to each other! And Kristoff! Why did he listen to her? Why didn't he say anything to me? He could have told me and we could have helped her but no, he chose to knock me out cold when I was supposed to go meet Elsa! He chose to take me away and for me to wake up to the news that Elsa was dead!"

Pabbie stepped closer towards her. "Princess…you know very well that you could have done nothing to stop Queen Elsa."

"She didn't have to die," the girl shouted as tears began to roll down her cheeks "we could have run away, just like we planned! Why?"

"The past is in the past now. Even if we knew why, it wouldn't change anything. Maybe the Queen can answer that once you find her."

"Then where is Elsa? She painted that painting, I'm sure of it! You must know where she is or where she lives!"

"She indeed did that painting," Pabbie confirmed as he picked up a box of tissues on the nearby table and offered it to the woman, "as for her location, I'm sure you can figure out where to find her. She is somewhere in this castle."

Anna pulled out a few tissues and wiped away her tears as she wracked her brain, thinking about all the possibilities. Her eyes widen when she realized something.

"Elsa's room is still here," she spoke abruptly, suddenly remembering the door that remained untouched after all these years.

"Yes, yes it is. Let's just say I made an effort to scare them into believing that it was untouchable. That side of the castle had been closed off ever since."

"…is everything still in good shape?"

"You would be surprised to know that it is," Pabbie said with a knowing smile.

Anna perked up at the comment. "Does that mean…?" she trailed off, the hopefulness in her voice evident.

Pabbie chuckled and shook his head. "I can tell you for sure that she is not in that room at the moment. I doubt you will need to use it, but take this with you just in case, Princess," he said as he gave her a special pass that allowed all access to everywhere in the castle. "Keep looking and have a good day."

Pabbie gave her a slight bow and then left the room, leaving Anna to her own devices. She began pacing back and forth, thinking about all the places Elsa could be.

"Come on, Anna! There aren't a lot of places she goes to! Think!" she muttered to herself.

She started counting with her fingers. "Okay, so…study, library, throne room, her room, _my_ room…wait a minute!" she exclaimed and stopped her pacing "How did I not think about it! Of course she's at _our_ place!"

Anna dashed out of the room and ran through the halls. As she whizzed past people her heart thundered, beating rapidly at the thought of seeing Elsa again. Fear began to bubble up but she pushed it down, urging herself to move forward instead of turning back. Finally after moments of running around she stopped in front of a suit of armor.

"Hello there old friend," she said with a smile.

This was it, now or never.


	5. Elsa

Anna took a calming breath and gave the armored knight a firm hand shake. As soon as she let go faint hums of the hidden mechanics began to sound. A part of the wall and the floor, along with the armored knight, began to turn. She coughed, almost gagged, when the murky air rushed out. However, she quickly slipped in before the passage was closed.

She blindly reached for her phone and opened the flashlight app, eyes wincing at the sudden brightness. Covering her nose with one arm she quickly made her way through the passage, a wave of relief washing over her when she finally reached the exit.

Anna squinted her eyes when she exited the passage, letting her eyes readjusted to the bright summer sun. She deeply inhaled the fresh air into her lungs and sighed with content. The woman gazed at the lush green garden before her, which was still as beautiful as it used to be. It was very well kept.

"You know, that hidden passage isn't the only way to this garden now."

Anna jumped at the sudden voice behind her. She whirled around and came face to face with a raven haired woman, who was sitting on a bench that was against the wall she had just come out moments ago. Bright blue eyes gazed at her with interest as lips curled up into a smirk.

"This garden isn't open to tourist, but it isn't exactly as secret as it used to be either," the woman before her continued.

The strawberry blonde's mouth opened and closed like a fish gaping in water, confusion written all over her face. The woman looked like Elsa, yet the air surrounding her wasn't like Elsa at all. She could only stare at the woman.

The woman's hair was styled in such an odd way that Anna was pretty sure an absurd amount of hair gel was used to defy gravity. She was wearing a plain black tee shirt, and on top of that was a loose, red and black checkered plaid shirt which was unbuttoned with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows. A dark gray, studded leather belt was looped around her waist, securing the pair of ripped jeans that shaped her legs nicely. On her feet was a pair of scuffed combat boots that were a faded black. It seemed like the heat didn't bother her at all.

"Hey," the woman called out to Anna as she snapped her fingers to get her attention; the various bracelets on her wrists jingling as she did so. "Don't just gawk, come over here at sit!"

She hurried over and sat down at the end of the bench, far from the woman. She squeaked when the raven haired woman slid over and casually slung an arm around her shoulder. The woman laughed at her reaction.

"Don't worry, I don't bite," she said with a grin.

Anna could only nod in response.

"I've always wondered when I'd meet you," the woman mused as one hand started toying with one of Anna's braids. "I've wondered about where you are, what you do…all kinds of shit, you know?"

Anna was appalled by her use of language. She didn't want to believe the woman in front of her was Elsa, but she did speak like she knew her.

"How old are you?" the woman asked suddenly.

"Twenty five," Anna answered, though she didn't know where this conversation was headed.

"Do you like younger women or older women?"

Anna frowned. "I don't think my preference is any of your concern; and what makes you think I like women?"

"Because I have an awesome gaydar, now answer the question."

She sighed. "I like younger women. There, happy?"

"Good," the women said a nod. "So what's your type?"

"Blondes," she answered immediately. "Though I have to ask, why is it that you're asking me these questions? I don't feel any ill intentions from you, but I can say that I don't feel comfortable answering any further questions without knowing who you are."

The raven haired woman looked at her with amusement. "You finally asked. I can tell you that I'm younger than you and was born a natural blonde. _Platinum_ blonde, to be exact," she added with a knowing wink. "You can call me El—"

"Ellie!"

Anna perked up at the familiar voice. The woman beside her shot up from the bench and yelled with frustration at the voice. "It's El, not Ellie, damn it!"

Anna followed El's line of sight and saw the Elsa she knew, jogging towards them. She looked back and forth between both women and it suddenly dawned on her.

"Are you two twins?"

Elsa, who now stood beside her, gave her a shy smile. "Yes, we are."

El, or Ellie, or whoever she wanted to be just gave her a snort.

"Elizabeth!" Elsa reprimanded frantically.

"It's El, Elsa! How many times do I have to say that? Elizabeth and the nick name Ellie are _not_ cool names at all," El said with her eyes narrowed.

"El doesn't seem like a cool name either," Elsa retorted.

"Whatever," El said with a scoff. She then laid a hand on Anna's shoulder. "I was just getting acquainted with my future sister-in-law here," she drawled.

Both Anna and Elsa blushed. "W-What?" the former sputtered out.

El rolled her eyes. "Elsa has been gushing about you ever since forever. You know, she told me that she would marry you once she found you."

"That was when we were six!"

"Precisely the point. You knew you wanted to marry a woman when you were six."

Elsa blushed furiously and swatted her sister's arm. El ignored her and continued.

"Can you believe it? Man, I don't know what I did before to deserve this fate. Being Elsa's twin? Fine, whatever; but having to listen to her yap about you since she could talk? Ugh. I think I'm almost deaf!"

"That's not true!" Elsa cut in hurriedly.

" _Anyways_ ," El said with the wave of her hand. "I better tell mom and dad that we found your destined lover." She turned towards Anna. "Are you free for dinner?"

"W-What?" Anna stuttered as she averted her gaze from Elsa and her sinfully sexy legs. Who could blame her? She was wearing shorts for gods sake!

"Dinner. Tonight." The raven haired woman repeated with a smirk, knowing exactly why Anna stuttered.

"Oh, yes! Of course! Wouldn't miss it for the world!" Anna replied with a sheepish laugh.

"Great, now I'll leave you two love birds alone to make googly eyes at each other. See ya!"

When El was out of sight, Elsa sat down beside Anna. On the other hand, Anna was having a hard time containing herself from ogling Elsa's legs. She blushed to the tip of her ears when she remembered the countless times they made love, the times those legs had wrapped themselves around her…

She shook her head and tried to clear her thoughts. "You're a painter now?" she blurted out, hoping that the conversation would keep her mind out of perverted things.

Elsa studied her for a moment before answering. "Yes, but that's not what I was talking about. What were you thinking about?"

"I, uh—"

"Never mind, don't answer that."

"Sorry…"

"I…I asked you if you were mad at me," Elsa said as she fiddled with the hem of her shirt, "for leaving you behind."

"I was," Anna answered honestly. "Now that I see you…I can't stay mad even if I wanted to. You probably had your reasons, I get it. Besides, I didn't live the life you wanted me to…if you knew what I did, you'd be mad, too."

"I thought so. Ever since I learned that you didn't have a single portrait left I've been wondering what happened to you." Cerulean eyes gazed towards her, "though I would prefer if we didn't talk about that at this moment. Right now I just want you to hold me…is that okay?"

Without a word Anna put her arm around Elsa and the latter nuzzled into her. "Hey, I just noticed that I'm taller than you this time," Anna said with a chuckle.

"Did you expect us to be the exact same as we use to be?" the other woman asked with a huff. "Things change. I can tell you now that I don't have any powers. I think it's a good thing, though sometimes I do miss it."

"Kristoff is older than me, that's for sure. He's even married, did you know? I think Hans is his best friend."

"You met Hans?" Elsa asked with surprise. "I've seen Kristoff a few times but we never had the chance to talk much."

"Hans told me to say hello to you. I didn't know who he meant at first, but after I saw your painting I knew that he was referring to you."

"He also…?"

"Yeah, but that's a story for another time."

Elsa pouted and Anna laughed before kissing her forehead affectionately. They sat there in content silence until Anna spoke again.

"Hey, Elsa," she whispered.

The other woman made a small noise to let her know she was listening.

"Do you believe in after life?"

Anna could feel Elsa smile as she reached for her hand and laced their fingers together. "Yes…I do," she responded as she gave her hand a squeeze.

"So do I, because we’re right where we belong."


End file.
